2013 season looking up

Saturday

Jul 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

As a result of a recent change in job description, I’ve spent a lot of windshield time on I-75 traveling between Cheboygan and Sault Ste. Marie. Traffic appears to be increasing daily, and cars line up to pay the toll at the Mackinac Bridge.

As a result of a recent change in job description, I’ve spent a lot of windshield time on I-75 traveling between Cheboygan and Sault Ste. Marie. Traffic appears to be increasing daily, and cars line up to pay the toll at the Mackinac Bridge. Throngs of visitors are beginning to stream into northern Michigan. Our delayed tourism season seems to be kicking into a higher gear.Finally.It took too long for things to warm up this season. The winter that wasn’t turned into the winter that wouldn’t go away. Cold nights slowed down the usual spring warm up. The water is still a little cool for some of our thin-skinned friends from warmer latitudes.However, things are looking brighter. Area motels are reporting increases. Mackinaw City is packed. And boaters are plying the waters of area lakes and rivers, even on weekdays.The Cheboygan River and Inland Water Route are experiencing a steady stream of pontoon boats and assorted watercraft. Local parades, Music on Mullett at the mouth of the Cheboygan River, free concerts, events and other celebrations appear well-attended. Finding a parking place in downtown Cheboygan is now a challenge on some days.The falling price of gasoline has no doubt helped take traffic up a notch. Locals like saving 50 cents or more a gallon over the last few weeks. Even more important has been the price downstate, which is averaging as much as 40 cents lower than the “paradise pricing” we pay up north.The hassle of air travel works in our favor too. Long and invasive security procedures make flying tough these days. And some airlines are starting to charge for almost everything you bring on board not attached to your body.Tourism officials speculate that travelers are electing to take shorter vacations closer to home — that lower gas prices and busy schedules have combined to alter many vacation plans. They think many people are choosing to travel within a few hundred miles of home by car, rather than fight the security lines and other hassles at the airport. We are situated within one full gas tank’s distance from several metropolitan areas — a good place to be for a tourism-dependent area at this time. We need to have a solid season for the balance of the summer and early fall. Retail reports have been mixed around town. Some businesses have done very well, even with the slow spring. Others have struggled and must have better cash flow for the duration of the season to stay healthy. As I write these words in my office on Main Street, visitors stream past my window, stopping to check out the headline in today’s Tribune in the coin box outside the door, and then moving on to Main Street Market Square, Billy’s, Zany Kitchen and all the attractions of downtown Cheboygan on an idyllic July day.It gives one hope that all is well with the world.